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Volvo EX40

A BATTERY OF QUESTIONS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Volvo's first full-EV was this car, what's now called the EX40. Jonathan Crouch takes a detailed look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 83

The EX40 is pretty much everything you'd expect a Volvo full-EV model to be but in its early XC40 Pure Electric form, needed a few tweaks. It's had them. In recent times with this design, the base single motor front-driven version's been replaced by a rear-driven variant with longer range - and the dual motor AWD model has got a larger battery, so goes further too. The drawback is premium pricing but otherwise, a lot of boxes seem to have been ticked here.

Backgroundword count: 192

You might be surprised that it took so long for Volvo to bring us a full-EV: not until 2020 did it launch its first electric car, the XC40 Pure Electric. Which is strange because the marque was, after all, one of the very first to popularise Plug-in hybrid electrification in its models. Having said that, if you know the industry, you might be surprised that this Gothenburg maker is selling any kind of EV at all. Doesn't Volvo's all-electric subsidiary brand, Polestar, deal exclusively with that? It seems not. Volvo wants (and needs in view of current European directives) to dramatically increase the sales percentage of its electrified models and that can't be done merely by concentrating on mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid engineering. Plus the electric XC40 (renamed the EX40 in early 2024) was designed to sit on the same CMA platform used for the Polestar 2 model, so it was pretty straightforward to create a milkfloat mobility version of this little SUV. The early version wasn't quite cutting edge in terms of battery tech, but more recent updates in 2023 have improved that no end. As we're about to see...

Driving Experienceword count: 344

There are two flavours of EX40 on offer and both have been substantially improved since this model was first launched (originally badged the XC40 Pure Electric). Most customers will opt for the 'Single Motor' version, which used to be front-driven, but the Swedish maker's now moved the e-motor to the rear axle and slightly uprated its output to 238hp. Without any real impact on performance - rest to 62mph is dispatched in 7.3s on the way to the 112mph top speed that all Volvos these days share. EV driving range is WLTP-rated at 290 miles. To get the claimed mileage, you'll need to engage what the Swedish maker calls 'One Pedal Drive', selectable from the 'Driving' menu provided on this centre-dash screen. This dramatically increases the regenerative braking effect when you come off the throttle, to the point where, as advertised, the brake pedal will hardly ever be needed. The alternative is the 'Twin Motor' AWD variant we tried, which in this more recent form uses a larger 82kWh battery pack and twin electric motor set-up that has now adopted different front and rear e-motors, with 150hp and 258hp respectively, in place of the 204hp units previously used on both axles. But the 408hp total power output figure has remained the same as it was originally, so performance is still startling, a massive 670Nm of torque (at which point the main motor is spinning at a heady 14,000rpm), catapulting the car to 62mph in just 4.7s. In 'Single Motor' form, an EX40 is around 350kgs heavier than the equivalent XC40 B3 mild hybrid model and you certainly feel that at speed through tight corners. Ride quality though is pleasantly supple and better than most similarly-sized EV rivals, aided by this EV variant's switch to a softer 'Touring' suspension set-up. That doesn't deliver a very sharp feel through the bends, but the distinctly modest level of feedback through the electric steering rack doesn't encourage you to seek that anyway, even if you use the centre screen option that switches the steering to its firmer setting.

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Pictures (high res disabled)

Statistics (subset of data only)

Min

Max

Price:

£49,950.00 (At 23 Mar 2021)

£60,005.00 (At 23 Mar 2021)

Max Speed (mph):

112

0-62 mph (s):

4.9

Electric WLTP-Rated Driving Range (miles):

260

Length (mm):

4425

Width (mm):

1863

Height (mm):

1658

Boot Capacity (l):

460

Scoring (subset of scores)

Category: Hybrid, Plug-in, Electric & Hydrogen

Performance
80%
Handling
70%
Comfort
70%
Space
70%
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

This is an excerpt from our full review.
To access the full content library please contact us on 0330 0020 227 or click here

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